Buried Secrets
by Casio.N.Arden
Summary: Some secrets are better left untold...
1. Chapter 1

Corda watched as the felind boy spoke to a customer,making a sales pitch about one of the product,and how it was taken straight from the hands of a pirate. The customer seemed to be dragged into it, and soon enough the child was holding a handful of money. 'This kid might actually be useful...' she thought. She waited until the customer left,and walked over to him. "Hey kid,I've been watching you work for a few days now, and I was curious...how'd you like to work with the big boys?" she asked him. The felind looked at her,considering this.  
"Wha's in fur me?"he asked.  
"I can get you off these streets. Don't think I can't tell. I'm guessing you're a run away from the looks of it."  
He nodded. "Very well,miss,ah'll do it."he said,accepting the offer.  
"Got a name kid?"  
"Casio Arden."  
"Casio Arden..Welcome to the Black Market."

"Yo,Arden!" a voice called.  
"Yea?" He asked.  
"You're spacing out again! Tha's a bad idea!"  
"Sorry ma'am, ah was thinking!"he said, answering honestly. He had been working for Corda Romaro since he was thirteen. That was three years ago. Back then he loved the idea of working the Black Market, but now...He was beginning to believe this wasn't the place for him. He wanted to go places and meet people, and maybe even help them. He remembered how as a small boy he wanted to be a ships doctor. Suddenly, he had a brilliant idea. He was going to leave the Black Market and become a medical doctor.

"YOU WHAT?!"Corda exclaimed, practically screaming.  
"I'm quitting."  
"EXCUSE ME?! Who do you think got you where you are?! You can't pay for medical school on ya own!"  
"Actually..."he grinned at her.  
"What?"  
"Tell me, how muc' do ya pay attention to what we do when we aren't bustin' our rumps to sell your illegal things?"  
"...What?"  
"Goodbye, Corda, I'm out of here." Casio said. He then proceeded to leave the Black Market behind. 


	2. Chapter 2

It had been three weeks since Casio had left the Black Market. In the time after he left, he had gotten an apartment, found a school, studied like mad, and got registered. Today he would take the entry exam, and soon enough he would get his results. He would let God decide where his fate stood with this plan. He breathed deep, focusing on calming down, then went into the building where the test was to be held. When he got into the testing room, the first thing he noticed was that there weren't many other test takers. He sat down in a seat and began the test.

Three and a half months later, Casio walked into the school for his first day. He had done pretty well on the exam, and had gotten in with high scores. However, nothing could have prepared him for the challenges of dealing with people who believed they were better than everyone else just because they were from a higher class.  
By the third class of the day he had been deemed a spazz, as he was startled whenever someone came up behind him. He had always been jumpy, as anyone from the Black Market would be, with the constant hiding and running away from the law enforcement.  
Casio was on the way to his last class of the day when some of the older students gathered around him. The leader of the three was a large candid named Logan, and he was followed by two smaller candids named Jacob and Marcus. "Oh... um.. Can I please get by? I need to get to class." Casio said, looking down at the floor.  
Logan smirked. "Awh, is the little kitten scared?" he sneered. His lackies laughed, and then shut up when Logan glared at them. "Listen, new boy, if you want to survive here you gotta toughen up. Otherwise, I might have to teach you all on my own.~"  
Casio unintentionally let out a growl. "Ohoho, seems I angered him!" Logen smirked.  
"I just want to go to class. I don't really want a fight."  
"Hmph. Whatever, I'll get you one of these days. Trust me, you don't want to be on my bad side."  
"I think I can handle myself. Bullies are nuttin new to me."  
Logan growled and walked away, closely followed by Jacob and Marcus. Casio just shook his head, and headed to his last class. 


	3. Chapter 3

Three years after he began at Montressor Medical School, he started interning at the local hospital, in the Emergncy Room. So far in his three months at the ER, he had handled patients who had attempted suicide, had gotten into fights and been badly injured, had heart attacks, and many other things. He had been prepared for whatever would be thrown at him, or so he thought. However, he had not been prepared for his past to show up again...  
"We have a Code Omega! Arden, Wolfsgain, follow Dr. Chenz and his team!"  
"Yes ma'am!" the two interns said, following the doctors who took the patient back. Casio got a glimpse of who it was, and almost let out a gasp. It was Corda, who was extreamly wounded.  
The nurse who had brought her back began reading off what she had been told. "Patient has sustained multiple gunshot wounds, and blunt force trauma to the head. Patients brother rushed her here after the incident."

After the operation was over, Corda was placed in the ICU, where she would stay until she was stabl enough to stay in a regular hospital room.  
Casio was sitting in the staff locker room. He had just gotten himself cleaned up, and had sat down for a moment to calm his nerves.  
"Ayo, Casio, what's the dealio?" came a familier female voice.  
Casio looked up to see his fellow intern, a felind named Tanya Winchester. She had black hair, yellow eyes, and grey fur. "Oh, hey Tanya. It's nothing." he said, smiling a little bit at her constant cheerfulness.  
"Nothing, eh? It didn't seem like it when you saw the patient."  
"Well... She's an old boss of mine."  
"Oooh, well, the past is the past, right? Cheer up."  
He lookd at her for a moment then chuckled. "Heh, yeah." he said, and smiled. He wouldn't let Corda bother him. After all, Tanya was right, the past is the past. He just hoped that Corda would survive the night. If she could survive the night, she would be past the worst of it. After that, he would go see her. She may not have been the best person in the world, but she helped him more than she would ever know.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Casio was on his way to see Corda. When he walked into her room, she looked at him with a look of amazement. "You.. you actually made it this far?" she asked, sitting up the best she could.  
"Of course I did." he said.  
"But how..?"  
Casio shook his head. "it doesn't matter. What matters is I'm here and I did it on my own. Now, you need to rest." He said, and left the room.

For the next few days Casio would pop in once or twice a day to check on Corda until she was moved to a regular hospital room. Each day she would tell him more about her sister, May, who had always had a soft spot for him. She told him how May had been sad when he left, and how she had eventually found a beau, a felind named Michael, and started a family. She told him that May had a son now, a felind named Clark, and that the little one seemed to be growing fast.  
One day when Casio went to check on her, she wasn't there. He went to ask for a room number, but Tanya said that it would be better if he asked the doctor who was in charge of Corda. So he went to speak to Dr. Mortell. Dr. Mortell was a blonde-haired, green-eyed human doctor with tan skin, who was in his early forties.  
"Excuse me, Dr. Mortell?" Casio asked.  
"Yes?"  
"I was wondering where Ms. Romaro got placed?"  
"...I see... So they didn't tell you?"  
"No sir."  
"Corda Romaro is dead. She died overnight during an emergency surgery."  
"I...I see." Casio said. He was shocked. Corda Romaro was tougher than nails, and she could pull through anything it seemed like. He couldn't believe she had died in surgery.  
"I'm sorry, Casio. I know you seemed to have a friendship with her."  
"Yeah.. It's fine. Everyone goes eventually." he said, and walked away.

Later, as Casio was about to leave and go to his apartment, Tanya stopped him. "Hey, Cas, wait up!"she said. He stopped, and she caught up to him. "You leaving?"  
"Yeah. I figure I may as well go home and rest while I can."he answered with a nod.  
Tanya giggled a bit. "Yeah, that's true."  
He smiled.  
"So, mind if I walk with you? We live in the same apartment complex after all." she said.  
"Sure, that's fine."  
She giggld. "Awesome! Hey, if you want you can come over to my place for dinner."  
"That sounds great. I think I will." he said with a smile.

Tanya opened the door to her apartment, which had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen, that was mapped out the same way as Casio's apartment. She sat her stuff down and headed to the kitchen, closely followed by Casio. "Make yourself at home." she said, smiling. Casio nodded, then sat his stuff down.  
"Do you want any help cooking?" he asked.  
"Oh, if you want to." she said. She was glad for the dim lighting of the room, as it hid the fact she was blushing. However, she did not know that Casio was also blushing.  
"Tanya... There's something I'd like to ask you..."  
"Hmm?"  
"I... I've liked you for a while now, but I've been scared to tell you. And I... I was wondering if maybe... Maybe you'd like to go out with me..?" Casio asked. His face was red, almost as red as the tomato sauce Tanya was cooking.  
Tanya smiled. "I'd like that." she said, hugging him.  
He smiled. "I'm glad." he said, then remembered they were cooking. "We might want to pay attention to the food." he chuckled.  
"Ah! I almost forgot!"


	5. Chapter 5

_"Excuse me, child,but are you Casio Arden?"_  
_Ten-Year-Old Casio looked up to the man in the suit. "Yes...who you?" he asked._  
_The man kneeled down to the felinds level. "Mr. Arden, do you have any idea how lucky you are?"_  
_"Eh? Whassat mean?"_  
_"Well... Your parents and brother have been killed in a fire.."_  
_"W-what?!" Casio stared at him._  
_He nodded with a sad look. "Do you have any other family you can stay with?"_  
_"No..."_  
_"I see... Well, I'm going to have to take you to the orphanage."_  
_"Oh.." Casio was shocked. He couldn't believe what he was hearing._  
_The man held his hand out to the young felind after standing up. "It's gonna be okay now, I'm sure you'll get into a good family." he said. Casio just nodded, taking his hand._  
_-Three years Later-_  
_"You stupid felind! Can't you do anything right?!"_  
_Casio's ears flattened as his adoptive father yelled at him for accidentally knocking a vase off a table. "I'm sorry.. It was an accident.."_  
_"Don't give me excuses!" the drunkard yelled, and threw one of the broken shards at him._  
_Casio let out a startled cat noise, and cradled his bleeding arm against his side. He glanced to the side, where a book lay on a table. He lunged that way, grabbing the book, and threw it at his adoptive father, hitting him in the gut. The felind didn't stay long enough to see what happened next, he ran out of the house and kept running untill he collapsed, panting..._

Casio woke up, gasping a bit. It had been a long time since he had dreamed of his past. He layed back again, putting his hand on his forehead. He wasn't feeling too well right now. He was contemplating calling in sick, when the phone rang. He picked it up. "Hello?"  
_"Casio Arden?"_  
"Yes.. Who is this?"  
_"Ramsey Jacobson... I'm sure you remember me."_  
Casio almost dropped the phone. His adoptive father was calling him? But why? "What do you want?"  
_"I want to see you again, and apologize in person._"  
"...Meet me at the Hospital, I guess."  
_"Allright. Thank you."_  
Casio heard a click at the other end, then a buzz. Ramsey had hung up on him. "...This better not be a trick..."he muttered.

When Casio got to the hospital, Ramsey was already there, waiting for him. The human's previously constant stern gaze had turned kind of soft, and he had a scar across the left side of his face. Casio wondered what happened to him. "Hey.."  
Ramsey nodded. "Hey, Casio."he said. "so... You work here now?"  
"Yes, I do. I'm an intern for the Emergency ward."  
"Oh? Nice." Ramsey nodded in approval.  
"Enough chit chat. You wanted to apologize?"  
"Yes.. I wanted to apologize for those two years of torment and abuse. I was dealing with a bad divorce back then, ad to cope I would get drunk, and I guess I ended up taking it out on you."  
Casio was silent for a moment. He wasn't sure what he should say. "It's okay.." he said. "You were going through a lot."  
Ramsey nodded. "Well, you should probably get to work, your coworker is watching us."  
Casio looked over to Tanya. "Yeah. See you then." He turned back to Ramsey, but the human was gone. He blinked, and looked around. Ramsey was nowhere to be seen. He shrugged then walked over to Tanya. "Mornin." he said, and hugged her.  
She smiled. "Hey. So uh.. why were you talking to air?"  
Casio started to speak, then paused. "Wait... what?"  
"Are you feeling okay? You were having a conversation with the air.."  
"No, my adoptive father was there..?"  
"No one was there, Cas... Besides, he's dead, don't you remember? He died when we were in Med school."  
"Oh... I guess I was imagining it. Sorry to worry you."  
"It's fine." Tanya said, but she looked concerned.  
Casio was unsure of what to say next, but was saved from an awkward silence when Dr. Chez came by.  
"Come on you two lovebirds, you haave jobs, and it's not to stand around talking all day!"  
The two apologized, and continued on to their stations.


End file.
